Coffee Klatch

One of the programs I like to use for changing my computer wallpaper is WebShots. As a utility, it’s gotten much more stable than it was back in the early years of its existence, and now it doesn’t seem to be as much of a resource hog either.

I was looking for new pictures the other day and, being partial to “travel” pictures, was browsing through WebShots directories of pictures of various places I’ve either visited or would like to visit. I came across some photos of Halstatt, Austria, taken by someone who also had quite a few really nice pictures of Arizona and of Indianapolis, among other places. Visit http://community.webshots.com/user/richbell1 to browse through some of these excellent photos.

Current music: Bortnyansky: Sacred Choral Concertos, Vol. 4

Yesterday was the 2nd annual retreat for the Circle City Ringers. We spend the first half of the day talking, going over our goals for 2008, and hashing out some details for rehearsals. Then the second half of the day was spend rehearsing. With lunch in between brought in by Panera. Mmmm….

We looked at some music that we’ll be playing at the Spring Ring festival in Cincinnati at the end of February and we started working up our newest favorite piece: In The Mood, arranged for handbells by Hart Morris, who is one of handbells’ favorite composers/arrangers of challenging music. He’s captured the original “In the Mood” very well and translated into a playable-yet-challenging arrangement for handbells. All the little sax solo bits are there and everything! Should be a load of fun! And I can’t wait to get it learned so we can take it up a notch.

When you write copy, you own the right of copyright to the copy you write, if the copy is right. If, however, your copy falls over, you must right your copy. If you write religious services, you write rite, and own the right of copyright to the rite you write.

Conservatives write Right copy, and own the right of copyright to the Right copy they write. A right-wing cleric would write Right rite, and owns the right of copyright to the Right rite he has the right to write. His editor has the job of making the Right rite copy right before the copyright can be right.

Should Reverend Jim Wright decide to write Right rite, then Wright would write right rite, to which Wright has the right of copyright. Duplicating his rite would be to copy Wright’s Right rite and violate copyright, to which Wright would have the right to right.

Right?

Looking for a cool Latin phrase? Maybe you’re designing a new coat of arms for your family or for a fictional persona. Maybe you’re playing Knighthood on Facebook. Well here’s one of the many excellent websites for looking up Latin phrases. I like this one in particular because the font’s not very big and they have loads on one page. It’s http://www.yuni.com/library/latin.html.

Enjoy! Utor vestri!

A Cajun was stopped by a game warden in Southern Louisiana recently with two ice chests of fish, leaving a bayou well known for its fishing.

The game warden asked the man, “Do you have a license to catch those fish?”

“Naw, ma fren, I ain’t got none of dem, no. Dese here are my pet fish.”

“Pet fish?”

“Ya. Avery night I take dese here fish down to de bayou and let dem swim ’round for a while. Den I whistle and dey jump rat back inta dis here ice chest and I take dem home.”

“That’s a bunch of hooey! Fish can’t do that!”

The Cajun looked at the game warden for a moment and then said, “It’s de truth ma’ fren. I’ll show you. It really works.”

“Okay, I’ve GOT to see this!”

The Cajun poured the fish into the bayou and stood and waited.

After several minutes, the game warden turned to him and said, “Well?”

“Well, what?” Said the Cajun.

“When are you going to call them back?”

“Call who back?”

“The FISH!”

“What fish?”

A true story! Supposedly anyway. I first used this in Pfitz’s Pfunnies back in March 2001 and resurrected it once or twice over the last seven years. Now it’s on the blog and here to stay.

Let’s say a guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Diane. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time.

A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they’re driving home, a thought occurs to Diane, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: “Do you realize that, as of tonight, we’ve been seeing each other for exactly six months?”

And then there is silence in the car. To Diane, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: Gee, I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he’s been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I’m trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn’t want, or isn’t sure of.

And Roger is thinking: Gosh. Six months.

And Diane is thinking: But, hey, I’m not so sure I want this kind of relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I’d have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward . . . I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Roger is thinking: . . . so that means it was . . . let’s see. . . February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer’s, which means . . . lemme check the odometer . . . Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Diane is thinking: He’s upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I’m reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed–even before I sensed it–that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that’s it. That’s why he’s so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He’s afraid of being rejected.

And Roger is thinking: And I’m gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don’t care what those morons say, it’s still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It’s 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.

And Diane is thinking: He’s angry. And I don’t blame him. I’d be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can’t help the way I feel. I’m just not sure.

And Roger is thinking: They’ll probably say it’s only a 90-day warranty. That’s exactly what they’re gonna say, the dirtbags.

And Diane is thinking: Maybe I’m just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I’m sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I’ll give them a warranty. I’ll take their warranty and stick it right up their…

“Roger,” Diane says aloud.

“What?” says Roger, startled.

“Please don’t torture yourself like this,” she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. “Maybe I should never have… Oh, I feel so ….”

(She breaks down, sobbing.)

“What?” says Roger.

“I’m such a fool,” Diane sobs. “I mean, I know there’s no knight. I really know that. It’s silly. There’s no knight, and there’s no horse.”

“There’s no horse?” says Roger.

“You think I’m a fool, don’t you?” Diane says.

“No!” says Roger, glad to finally know the correct answer.

“It’s just that . . . It’s that I . . . I need some time,” Diane says.

(There is a 15-second pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)

“Yes,” he says.

(Diane, deeply moved, touches his hand.)

“Oh, Roger, do you really feel that way?” she says.

“What way?” says Roger.

“That way about time,” says Diane.

“Oh,” says Roger. “Yes.”

(Diane turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

“Thank you, Roger,” she says.

“Thank you,” says Roger.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Roger gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it’s better if he doesn’t think about it. (This is also Roger’s policy regarding world hunger.)

The next day Diane will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either.

Meanwhile, Roger, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Diane’s, will pause just before serving, frown, and say:

“Norm, did Diane ever own a horse?”

This is an oldie but a goodie. Enjoy!

____________________________

What to Do With Hotel Soap?
The following letters are taken from an actual incident between a London hotel and one of its guests. The Hotel ended up submitting the letters to the London Sunday Times.
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Dear Maid,
Please do not leave any more of those little bars of soap in my bathroom since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial. Please remove the six unopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest and another three in the shower soap dish. They are in my way.
Thank you,
S. Berman
———————————————————————
Dear Room 635,
I am not your regular maid. She will be back tomorrow, Thursday, from her day off. I took the 3 hotel soaps out of the shower soap dish as you requested. The 6 bars on your shelf I took out of your way and put on top of your Kleenex dispenser in case you should change your mind. This leaves only the 3 bars I left today which my instructions from the management is to leave 3 soaps daily. I hope this is satisfactory.
Kathy, Relief Maid
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Dear Maid - I hope you are my regular maid.
Apparently Kathy did not tell you about my note to her concerning the little bars of soap. When I got back to my room this evening I found you had added 3 little Camays to the shelf under my medicine cabinet. I am going to be here in the hotel for two weeks and have brought my own bath-size Dial so I won’t need those 6 little Camays which are on the shelf. They are in my way when shaving, brushing teeth, etc. Please remove them.
S. Berman
———————————————————————
Dear Mr. Berman,
My day off was last Wed. so the relief maid left 3 hotel soaps which we are instructed by the management. I took the 6 soaps which were in your way on the shelf and put them in the soap dish where your Dial was. I put the Dial in the medicine cabinet for your convenience. I didn’t remove the 3 complimentary soaps which are always placed inside the medicine cabinet for all new check-ins and which you did not object to when you checked in last Monday. Please let me know if I can of further assistance.
Your regular maid,
Dotty
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Dear Mr. Berman,
The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed me this morning that you called him last evening and said you were unhappy with your maid service. I have assigned a new girl to your room. I hope you will accept my apologies for any past inconvenience. If you have any future complaints please contact me so I can give it my personal attention. Call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM. Thank you.
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper
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Dear Miss Carmen,
It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave the hotel for business at 7:45 AM and don’t get back before 5:30 or 6PM. That’s the reason I called Mr. Kensedder last night. You were already off duty. I only asked Mr. Kensedder if he could do anything about those little bars of soap. The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was a new check-in today, since she left another 3 bars of hotel soap in my medicine cabinet along with her regular delivery of 3 bars on the bathroom shelf. In just 5 days here I have accumulated 24 little bars of soap. Why are you doing this to me?
S. Berman
———————————————————————
Dear Mr. Berman,
Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop delivering soap to your room and remove the extra soaps. If I can be of further assistance, please call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM. Thank you,
Elaine Carmen,
Housekeeper
———————————————————————
Dear Mr. Kensedder,
My bath-size Dial is missing. Every bar of soap was taken from my room including my own bath-size Dial. I came in late last night and had to call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets.
S. Berman
———————————————————————
Dear Mr. Berman,
I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen, of your soap problem. I cannot understand why there was no soap in your room since our maids are instructed to leave 3 bars of soap each time they service a room. The situation will be rectified immediately. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.
Martin L. Kensedder, Assistant Manager
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Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Who the heck left 54 little bars of Camay in my room? I came in last night and found 54 little bars of soap. I don’t want 54 little bars of Camay. I want my one darn bar of bath-size Dial. Do you realize I have 54 bars of soap in here?! All I want is my bath-size Dial. Please give me back my bath-size Dial.
S. Berman
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Dear Mr. Berman,
You complained of too much soap in your room so I had them moved. Then you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was missing so I personally returned them. The 24 Camays which had been taken and the 3 Camays you are supposed to receive daily. I don’t know anything about the 4 Cashmere Bouquets. Obviously your maid, Kathy, did not know I had returned your soaps so she also brought 24 Camays plus the 3 daily Camays. I don’t know where you got the idea this hotel issues bath-size Dial. I was able to locate some bath-size Ivory which I left in your room.
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper
———————————————————————
Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest soap inventory.
As of today I possess:
On the shelf under medicine cabinet
- 18 Camay in 4 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2.
On the Kleenex dispenser
- 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 3.
On the bedroom dresser
- 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet,
- 1 stack of 4 hotel-size Ivory, and
- 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4.
Inside the medicine cabinet
- 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2.
- In the shower soap dish
- 6 Camay, very moist.
On the northeast corner of tub
- 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly used.
- On the northwest corner of tub
- 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3.
Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure the stacks are neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise her that stacks of more than 4 have a tendency to tip. May I suggest that my bedroom window sill is not in use and will make an excellent spot for future soap deliveries. One more item, I have purchased another bar of bath-sized Dial which I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to avoid further misunderstandings.
S. Berman

Well, I’ve officially gotten started. I’m taking Chorale three days a week (right after lunch) and I have Choral Lit on Monday afternoons and History of Baroque Music on Tuesday afternoons/evenings. Those two are just once a week, which is nice on the schedule, and start at 4:00 or later, which means less time to make up from the work schedule. I’m still left with enough hours, though, that on Wednesdays I’ll be in to work by 9:00 and still have to work the Reference Desk from 5-10pm. Wednesdays will be LONG days, methinks.

Still, it’s fun to be taking classes again. At least since they’re in topics of interest to me. Plenty of work to be sure, but still enjoyable overall. Both of my “regular” classes are going to include plenty of student participation every week, keeping us on our toes and contributing regularly. Discussion-oriented classes are always more fun and interesting than lecture-style classes.

I don’t know how this slipped by me unnoticed for so long, but I just yesterday read Chad Boeninger’s post on Library Voice about the Meebo plugin for Pidgin (used to be GAIM). It’s the answer to our Reference Desk dilemma! Let me explain.

Last fall we implemented Meebo in a test mode as it were, to get the functionality of widgets on our web pages. One of the strengths of Meebo is their MeeboMe widget, which puts an IM window right on your web page, interfacing with the instant messenger at your own computer (in this case, at our Reference Desk). The drawback of Meebo is that it’s web based (a good thing), requiring you to always have a browser window open and dedicated to Meebo (a bad thing). If you’re on another tab in your browser, the only notification was the other tab’s favicon blinking, which is small and easy to miss.

Enter Pidgin. It’s a new and slightly improved version of GAIM, which is what we used at the Reference Desk before Meebo because it allowed us to connect with multiple IM accounts from one interface. And it’s open source.

With this Meebo plugin for Pidgin, you can just use Pidgin the way you normally would (complete with background running when minimized and popups when new messages come in) and still connect with your MeeboMe widgets. It’s the best of both worlds! I’ve tried it at our Reference Desk and on my personal computers and it works great!

As Chad put it, MeeboMe and Pidgin is like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — two great tastes that taste great together!

Thanks, Chad!!

If you work with printing out music at all, you probably know about Finale, which is the premier music publishing software available today. There’s even a free version, called Finale Notepad, which has some of the basic functions of Finale proper, including 8 staves, Setup Wizard, MIDI import/export, the SmartMusic SoundFont (128 sounds), and even Human Playback which plays the music taking into account tempo and dynamic changes (VERY nice!). Here’s a chart that compares the features of the various Finale products.

When working with Finale, they have their own Maestro font that is the default font for the musical notations, including notes, tempo markings, etc. There’s also a Jazz font which is quite cool and allows you to print music that looks like standard jazz sheet music. Sometimes, though, you want to use a different font that might be easier to work with for lining up articulations, etc., and that’s where DVM comes in. They have a free font, called DVMarticulations, which handles articulations more smoothly than most fonts.

If you work with printing music at all, this font is worth checking out and playing with. They also have some free demos of a couple other musical fonts that you might be interested in.